Best CFB QB's of the 2000's (Hour 1)

It's that time of year. Cash the Ticket.

Jim Costa with Mike Valenny. We shift the focus from football to college hoops. Playing that system that's not a system but sure plays like a system leading up to the tournament. We're looking for that value with the daily dimes. We look for the gross lines. Getting us ready for the tournament where we're going to break down all the matchups and have an eye on some future plays too.

This time of year baby. Search Cash the Ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from the play show yet not overly ostentatious, studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City. Sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, the free Odyssey app and of course streaming live on YouTube. YouTube.com slash CBS Sports Radio. 855-212-4CBS is the number to jump on in. 855-212-4227. You can always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Got a whole lot to do. Rock and roll and jamming out with you all the way up until 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. We will be joined by Brandon Stokely who now does radio in Denver, former NFL wide receiver. That will come your way at 4.20 p.m. Eastern time today. Got Stuart Kovacs, Chris Hess and Moist Mike with me as well.

So we have an action packed fully packed studio today on the other side. So here's where I want to start the show. And let me just say this. There is a list that just came out and it's done by ESPN. The name of the author of the list is Bill Connolly. And Bill put together his top 80 quarterbacks in college football of the 2000s. I will say this right out of the gate. It's a fun list. It's a good list.

And it's going to create a lot of conversation. I don't see how you don't have Tim Tebow as the best college quarterback. Not who went on to have the best NFL career. I'm just talking about college quarterback. Tim Tebow to me is the preeminent college football quarterback of the 2000s. Now on this list, he was ranked as number four.

And I don't see how you could put three quarterbacks in front of Tim Tebow. So I'll give you the top 10 that this list was put out the other day by ESPN. In at number 10, RG3. Number nine, Marcus Mariota. Who I always want to call Marcus Marioto because that's how Roger Goodell did so when he got drafted by Tennessee. Number eight, Lamar Jackson. Number seven, Kyler Murray. Number six, Deshaun Watson. Five is Joe Burrow. Four is Tim Tebow. Vince Young is three. Cam Newton in at number two. And then number one, Baker Mayfield. Now, whenever you have these lists, it's when you're defining the greatest college quarterback of the 2000s.

There's many ways that you could do it. Did you win the Heisman? Did you win a Maxwell Award? Did you win a national championship? And then you could also look at, well, could you just have one great year?

And can you be in the top five? Because Joe Burrow, for me, even though he's not my number one quarterback of the 2000s, but when you look at greatest individual season, you could argue that Joe Burrow had the greatest individual season we've ever seen from a college quarterback period. Forget just of the 2000s.

So I think that there's many things that you factor in here. Because a guy like Baker Mayfield had the college career longevity of three just monster seasons at Oklahoma. But what did he win? Won a Heisman, but he didn't win a national championship. He didn't even win a college football playoff game. And maybe the moment you remember him for the most, which was a classic game up against Georgia, did come in a losing effort. So I guess the author here, when it comes to Baker Mayfield, I'll read you his explanation.

Newton Young Burrow had the best seasons. Mayfield had the best career. It began with him walking on a Texas Tech, quickly winning the starting job and throwing 413 yards in his debut. He lost his job to injury, then traded up, landing at OU. The Sooners hadn't won an outright conference title since 2010, but he led them to three in a row with three top five finishes and two college football playoff bids. His storybook career ended with him throwing and rushing for 4,938 yards and 48 touchdowns winning the Heisman and bringing OU to within an eyelash of the national title game. He was so good, despite non prototypical size, the Cleveland Browns couldn't resist making him the number one pick in the 2018 draft.

I understand what is being said here. I'm not saying that Baker Mayfield didn't have a great college football career, but to put him at number one on this list, I just can't do that. When you look at the tiebreakers here, and I'm not always the guy that says, Oh, you need a national championship to be considered great, or you need to win a Super Bowl necessarily to be considered great. Like we could all look at the pro career of Jim Kelly and acknowledge he had a great career. Dan Fouts had a great career. They didn't win Super Bowl championships in the NFL like Johnny Manziel.

Perfect example here. He is one of the more exciting college quarterbacks that I've ever seen. Johnny Manziel. And that two year run at A&M, maybe one of my favorite quick runs that we've ever seen. But when you get into the tiebreakers with other Heisman Trophy winners, other Maxwell Award winners or whatever it is, that national championship carries a lot of weight. So to put Baker Mayfield in at one who had a great well rounded career doesn't compute to me because you didn't win a national championship. So I'll give you my five here. These are my top five greatest college quarterbacks of the 2000s.

In at number five, it's the Sean Watson. That run at Clemson ignited the first time we have really seen under the Saban dominant run. That was the team that started to formulate that really put a dent in Alabama and took the baton from Nick Saban for an extended period of time. Now, eventually, Saban was able to pull it back and Dabo got arrogant and Dabo didn't embrace NIL and the transfer portal. And we thought it was going to go from Watson to Lawrence to DJ Young-Gillilay and DJ Yu was going to be the star at Clemson and they didn't have an offensive line.

They weren't creative in their offensive game planning and you start to see Clemson fade. But that start with the Sean Watson to have that moment where you lose in the national championship to Bama and then you redeem yourself the next year and you throw that game winning touchdown pass. And I know that DeSean didn't win a Heisman in college, but it's just one of those moments. And you have to take into consideration the team that he beat, an Alabama team that he beat and how they started to push elbows and then eventually take the Superman cape from Alabama for a bit. DeSean Watson for me is in at number five.

At number four, it's Cam. Heisman, Maxwell, national championship. Now, some people could say he has two national championships. To make this argument for Cam, when he goes back to Florida and he is considered winning a national championship, I don't need to make that argument because he barely even played.

So it's not fair to say, oh, I'm going to enhance that because when you look at his resume, it does technically list two national championships. I'm just talking about Cam at Auburn with the Heisman, the Maxwell and the Natty. In at number three, this guy doesn't have the longevity for a college football quarterback, but he is a part of the greatest college football game that I've ever seen. And it's Vince Young.

You go back to that national championship where USC was and the brand of Texas. And remember, that's Mac Brown's only national championship. And to see what Vince Young did on that night in the Rose Bowl where he ran for three touchdowns and ran for 200 yards and he also threw for 260 something as well. That was one of the all time great moments I've seen from an individual player in college football. And I know he may not have the stats as some of the others on this list, and I know he didn't win a Heisman, but to just see what he did on that night and college football is a moment sport.

It is. That is one of the greatest moments I've ever seen from a college quarterback. So Vince Young is in at three talking about greatness. I have to put Joe Burrow in at number two. To see what Joe Burrow was at at Ohio State, then transfers over to LSU that first year at LSU.

That's what I was doing the weekend overnights. We were talking about LSU, but we weren't talking about Joe Burrow. Joe Burrow that first year at LSU was practically a game manager. We were talking about the running back and Nick Bro set more than Joe Burrow. And entering that year, his final year at LSU, I've never seen a player's stock rise more than Joe Burrow from any college football quarterback. We were talking about a guy, I don't even remember what his draft projection was because there was really no draft projection. Like maybe at best, if I'm being benevolent, a fifth round pick. And he catapults from being a fifth or a sixth or a seventh round pick, a day three pick, to being the number one overall pick in the draft.

And they just dominated team after team after team after team. He threw when he won a Heisman, a Maxwell, and a national championship in one season. He threw 60, 60 passing touchdowns to only six interceptions and he threw for 5,671 yards.

His completion percentage, this is just stupid, 76.3%. And they, I don't even remember them playing in a close game that year. You know, maybe the Alabama game was close for a little bit, but what he did at LSU that season, it was just flat out stupid how great that they were. You go back to that season, I'm trying to see what their closest game was. It may have been Texas where it was 45 to 38, they had a game against Auburn, 23 to 20. But man, you look at the second half of that season, they beat Ole Miss 58 to 37. Arkansas 56 to 20, A&M 50 to 7, Georgia in the SEC title game, 37 to 10. And then in the college football playoff against Oklahoma, 63 to 28.

And then against the great Clemson team with Trevor Lawrence, 42 to 25. That is the greatest individual season I've ever seen from a college quarterback. But in at number one of my top five college football quarterbacks of the 2000s, it's Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow, you could argue, is the greatest college football player of all time. I don't see how you don't call him the greatest college quarterback of the 2000s.

Heisman, finalists I believe two other times, won two Maxwell awards and won two national championships. Now, I know, and we all knew that Tim Tebow was not going to go on to be this great pro quarterback. Unless if you were one of those Tebow sycophants. Or Josh McDaniels. Yes, that too.

Very good line there, Samter. But this list isn't who had the best total career, college and NFL. It's just the greatest college football quarterbacks of the 2000s. Samter, I just gave my five, Watson five, Cam four, Vince Young three, Joe Burrow two, and Tim Tebow one. Just give me your list of the greatest college football quarterbacks, just your top five of the 2000s. So I'll give you my top five list. I tended to go more towards guys who had multiple years of greatness as opposed to just one solid year. There's an exception. I was going to put Cam in my top five, but I went Baker five.

Baker five, Burrow four, because that one year was just so good. What's this background noise that I'm hearing? Somebody's calling me and I have to make sure my phone is on mute because I'm not used to people calling me during the show.

They know. We should pick it up maybe. Should we see who it is? Is it a telemarketer? It might be. It's an unknown number, so I'm not sure who this is. I'll find out shortly. I'm not prank phone calling you.

Oh, no, that's not me. All right, give me your list. So I got Baker five, Burrow four. The guy that I can't believe that people are leaving out.

Wait, Baker five, Burrow four. The guy that I just understand that he's not higher on everybody's list is Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson, to me, could be two on this list, but he didn't win a championship, so I can't put him two. Lamar Jackson, to me, when I think of a guy who had a great college career, he's the guy that stands out outside of Tebow.

He was unbelievable. Matt Leinart, I have as number two, and Tim Tebow, of course, number one. Matt Leinart, I know he gets shaded because, like you said, he's not the guy that you think of. But at the end of the day, he won a title. He won a Heisman. He should have won a second title. And he had an incredible, incredible multi-year career.

OK, fascinating list that you just gave us. Now, in my top five, I had Watson five, Cam four, Vince Young three, Burrow two and Tebow one. The one I felt the worst about leaving out was Matt Leinart. Now, all Matt Leinart did was win in college.

He has a Heisman. But the thing with Matt Leinart, when I think of Clemson and those teams where Deshaun Watson played, I think of Deshaun Watson first. Cam at Auburn, that's the first game I think of. Texas, when Vince Young was there, he's the first player I think of. LSU on that great team, just filled with star after star after star. I think of Joe Burrow.

And hey, look at Florida. They were filled with star after star after star, the first player I think of. Tim Tebow. When I get to USC, and I love Matt Leinart. I, growing up as a kid watching Matt Leinart play, loved him. But the first person I think about is Reggie Bush, who, by the way, should have his Heisman trophy back if you couldn't tell from my little rant that I had yesterday where Samter may be basically erupt like a volcano.

So that was the one that I feel worse about. You would put Leinart, wait, so you put Leinart in at number two? I put Leinart at two because his resume says, now listen, I get it. We think of Reggie Bush. But if we're not talking about Tim Tebow as the greatest college football player of all time, Reggie Bush is right up there in that conversation. So like, yes, does it hurt Leinart's resume that he's not the guy in that team?

Sure. I can't put Baker in the top five though. Baker's top ten, I can't put him in the top five.

Who, Baker? Yeah, I can't put Baker in the top five. I thought about putting Cam ahead of him as well, but again, I kind of tended to go towards guys who were very good or great for multiple seasons, and Baker had three great seasons. One Heisman season and two other very good seasons. Cam, as great as he was, Vince Young, as great as he was, had one very good year. And honestly, Vince Young, outside of that moment where he won that game and had that amazing run to win the title, I mean, his first year, six touchdowns, seven picks. Second year, 12 touchdowns, 11 picks. That year that we think about, 2005, he had 26 touchdowns and 10 picks. Yes, he rushed for 1,000 yards, but like, it wasn't a historic year.

It was a very good year that was capped off by a historic moment. But I can't put Vince Young in that conversation. Well, technically, we could argue that Vince Young does have the Heisman, because that was the year Reggie Bush won the Heisman. And to go back to your conversation yesterday, when you go to Football Reference 2005 Heisman Trophy voting, Reggie Bush's name is listed, and then it's crossed out. There's a big difference between taking a Heisman or a trophy away from a player and then just giving it to somebody else who didn't actually win it.

Vince Young didn't win it. And that's, I agree, I was being facetious a little bit. Good.

Jokes are funny if you understand them. Good. The other thing here, too, is I have to put Vince Young in my top five, and I have to put him in front of Matt Leinart. He did beat Matt Leinart in that national championship game when they were going blow for blow. Trust me, I get it, but Matt Leinart's overall career was just more dominant over a larger course of a period of time. Now, granted, those teams and those early 2000s Miami teams were like the most loaded rosters we've seen. So, real quickly, when you go through the full dive of Bill Connolly's college football's top 80 quarterbacks of the 2000s, just give me a few takeaways from this list.

Just give me one, then I'll respond, and we'll do a few of these. All right. Well, recency bias, right, the one that really stands out to me is Jayden Daniels at 19, ahead of Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Tuatunga Valoa, and ahead of Caleb Williams. Caleb Williams is 23rd on this list, so not only does Jayden Daniels, and again, I've said this, as an ASU guy, I watched him. He sucked at ASU. He was not good. He had one great year at LSU. Otherwise, he didn't have a very good college career.

He's way too high. Caleb Williams, on the other hand, I know that we look back and say, oh, he had a down year this year. He was dominant this year.

The team just didn't live up to expectations. He was almost perfect last year. Caleb Williams should be in the top 10 based off of his career. Not only what he did at Oklahoma, coming in and taking over there and being great there for Spencer Rattler, who was terrible, but Caleb Williams had two epic historic seasons at USD. So Caleb Williams should be higher than 23. I know that CJ Stroud's numbers were ridiculous. I can't put CJ Stroud, just on recency bias, in front of Tuatunga. But anyway, that's minimal 21-22.

Give me the next opinion. The other one that really stands out to me, and I was talking to you about this, there was a guy 20-something years ago who was not the best player on a loaded roster. But he lost two games in three years, won a Natty, finished top five in the Heisman twice, and also nearly won a second national championship, but lost in the title game to Ohio State. That's Ken Dorsey. Ken Dorsey is 40th on this list.

Yeah, that's way too low. 40th! This is a guy who almost won two Natties, finished top five in the Heisman twice, and had two losses in his career. 86 touchdowns. He was great. I know that he was on a great team with great roster, and so you can't... 40th behind Chase Daniel and Graham Harrell and Troy Smith and Colin Kaepernick and Rex Grossman?

Michael Panics behind these guys? Well, Troy Smith, too, won a Heisman. Ken Dorsey was... I'm just saying, that was the one name that stood out.

Sure, sure, sure. And then last takeaway, go ahead, before you explode and go crazy. That's really the other main takeaway. Look, also, Mac Jones is 42, Stetson Bennett's 41. There's a lot of inconsistencies on this list, right? If you want to go with a guy who put up numbers, go with a guy who put up numbers. If you want a guy who won, go with a guy who won.

But there's no consistency. He's got Kellen Moore, 14, who was dominant, broke records. And then he also has guys like Tommy Chang, who broke every record possible in the 60s. So if you're going to go with a guy in a small school who broke records, then do that and have them all at the front or have them all at the back. You can't have Tommy Chang, 67 or 70, and have Kellen Moore, 12.

I know he doesn't have the individual awards, and I'm not saying that this guy should be in the top 15 or maybe even the top 20. But Stetson Bennett being at 41 with some of the other names that you mentioned in recent times is way too low. If you're going to put like a Michael Penix Jr. in at 33 in front of Stetson Bennett, even a Justin Fields at 32, you'll look Bo Nix at 28. How do you put Bo Nix in front of Stetson Bennett? Bo Nix was a joke at Auburn, then goes to Oregon, had two phenomenal seasons. And I loved that Oregon team last year. But they lost twice, twice to Washington in one season.

So just that. Penix Jr. at 33, but Bo Nix at 28, that was something that's minor, but it just stood out to me. How about Zach Wilson at 67? At an ice sort of Dax Milno, I remember down the sideline where he stopped at a dime on that right sideline in a game that I was watching BYU.

So here's what I'll just simply ask you. Baker Mayfield on this list is the greatest college football quarterback of the early 2000s. Who is your greatest college football quarterback of the 2000s?

For me, it's without a doubt, hands down, 10 times out of 10, it is Tim Tebow. 855-2124 CBS, 855-212-4227. It is the Zach Elb show. It's that time of year.

Cash the ticket. Jim Costa with Mike Valenny. We shift the focus from football to college hoops. Playing that system that's not a system but sure plays like a system leading up to the tournament. We value with the daily dimes. We look for the gross lines, getting us ready for the tournament where we're going to break down all the matchups and have an eye on some future plays too. This time of year, baby.

Search cash the ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Alrighty, this is Zach Elb show on CBS Sports Radio. The Pittsburgh Steelers, I think, have a lot of pressure on them this offseason. And I don't think the Pittsburgh Steelers are really going to do anything in a big time way to improve their quarterback position. Kenny Pickett should not, and let me repeat this, should not be their quarterback, their starting quarterback come week one of the 2024 season.

But, I do think he will be. There are three options that I think are realistic and would instantly improve the quarterback position of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Russell Wilson, on a cheap one year deal next season, and it would be a cost cutting move too, would easily be better than Kenny Pickett.

You will not have to significantly impact your salary cap situation because of how much money was given out to Russell Wilson from the Denver Broncos. Then, we take a look at the second player that I'm going to mention, and that's going to be Justin Fields. A second round pick for Justin Fields is a deal that I would make every time if I'm the Pittsburgh Steelers. Because you've got to ask yourself, let's say Justin Fields and Kenny Pickett were both available, and let's say they were coming out of college the same year. Who would be the pick? Who would be the selection by the Steelers if both were available to them in the draft?

And I easily think it would have been Justin Fields over Kenny Pickett. And then finally, this is a player where I think his draft stock is a fringe first round pick. I believe he can be taken in the first round. I don't know if he will be taken in the first round.

And that's Michael Penix Jr. He is my number four ranked quarterback in this draft class. I look at the quarterbacks in this draft class, and I have Caleb Williams in at number one, I have Jayden Daniels in at number two, Drake May is number three, and I believe the fourth best quarterback in this draft class is Michael Penix Jr., and then J.J. McCarthy is in at number five. However, I think J.J. McCarthy is going to get selected before Michael Penix Jr. So, you've got to think of where the Steelers are at in the draft. The Steelers are sitting there with the 20th pick of the first round. Could I see Michael Penix Jr. fall in a 20?

I do. Because you're going to have a run of quarterbacks. Caleb Williams will go one.

There's a good chance Jayden Daniels and Drake May in some order are going to go two-three. Then after that, let's say the preference by these teams is McCarthy. You have the Giants at six. You have a team like the Atlanta Falcons in at eight. I think the Falcons are going to go get their quarterback in free agency, and I do believe that that quarterback is going to be Kirk Cousins. So, once you get out of the top ten, one of these guys are going to fall, and I do believe that you will see four quarterbacks go in the top ten.

One, two, three, right out of the gate. Williams, you will have Daniels, and you will have May. I don't know if it will be all three of those teams. I think the Bears keep the pick.

I think the Commanders keep the pick. The Patriots could trade out of that if, let's just say, May is on the board and Daniels does go at number two. But the Cardinals aren't taking a quarterback. The Chargers aren't taking a quarterback. The Giants could take a quarterback. Tennessee, I don't think they're taking a quarterback. The Falcons, I don't think they're taking a quarterback. The Bears are at nine.

Well, guess what? They've already taken a quarterback, number one. The Jets aren't taking a quarterback.

Depending who's there, Minnesota could. The Broncos have a need. And the Raiders have a need. But there's a chance that those teams go elsewhere. So you may have one of those teams move up to get into the top ten. But if Pennix falls after 13 and the Raiders don't take him, I don't think the Saints are. I don't think the Indianapolis Colts are. The Seahawks should, but I don't know if they will. Jacksonville won't. The Bengals won't.

The Rams won't. So the Steelers are there at a 20. You could move up a few spots and feel like you need to, or he may be there naturally. And let's just say Pennix is there naturally at 20th. Mike Tomlin, who gives you a better chance to win next season? Kenny Pickett in year three? Or Michael Pennix Jr. in year one? And rarely would I make the argument that the rookie would be able to go in there and play better than a guy that's been in the league for two years. But with all those things being said, I do think Michael Pennix Jr. is a pro-ready quarterback right now.

And not only that, he has pinpoint accuracy and he's a phenomenal leader. And just like I said with Justin Fields, I'll say it again here with Michael Pennix Jr. and Kenny Pickett both on the board, and let's say they're both coming out of college right now. Who would the Steelers prefer?

I think it's Michael Pennix Jr. And I don't even think it's that close. So what I'm getting at here is the three options I just gave you. You may not be jumping for joy over any of them, but ask yourself this. Who gives the Steelers a better chance to win this year? With a defense that is exceptional.

With an offense that has talent. I don't know if Deontay Johnson will be there, but George Pickens will. And you have a nice one-two punch with Jalen Warren and Najee Harris.

Who gives you the better chance to win? Is it Russell Wilson or is it Kenny Pickett? The answer is Russell Wilson. Is it Michael Pennix Jr. or is it Kenny Pickett? The answer is Michael Pennix Jr. Is it Justin Fields or is it Kenny Pickett?

The answer is Justin Fields. Kenny Pickett, let's say they give him, and I do believe they're going to afford him the opportunity to be the starting quarterback from the jump this year. This will be Kenny Pickett's final season as the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And I don't even think he should be afforded the opportunity to be the starting quarterback.

And you have to significantly improve that room. And Pittsburgh has done this now for years. When the defense is humming, the offense isn't on the same page. When the offense is humming, the defense isn't on the same page. And it's one of those situations, again, with life without Big Ben now, they don't have a quarterback.

And they've not been able to find their guy. And I don't believe any of the three quarterbacks that I just suggested significantly damage your future if they don't work out. Russell Wilson will be on a cheap, and I mean a cheap, one-year deal. Justin Fields will cost you a second-round pick.

So what? And you look at Michael Penix Jr., if you could get him at 20 without giving up any additional draft capital, that's your natural pick? Well, you just did the same thing with Kenny Pickett. And I'm giving you a player that's going to be better next year, this upcoming season, than anything I could imagine seeing Kenny Pickett doing on an NFL gridiron in the year of 2024. But with all that being said, I have a 0% amount of confidence that Mike Tomlin's going to go out there and get Justin Fields. He's going to go out and get Russell Wilson, or he's going to go out there and get Michael Penix Jr. And that's a problem because all three of those guys would be an instant, and I mean an instant, upgrade over what you currently have.

What should the Steelers do at the quarterback position this year? 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 4 CBS, 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. When we come on back, we'll update you to some of the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio.

We call that segment the News Brief. And the defensive player of the week is sponsored by the Navy Federal Credit Union, who proudly serves the armed forces, DoD veterans, and their families. Their members are The Mission.

Learn more at NavyFederal.org. This week's player is Wolves big man Rudy Gobert over his last five games. Gobert has 15 blocked shots to go along with 73 rebounds. Both are the most in the league over the last week of action. Before we get to a News Brief, Pat Leonard has this story out there. Today is franchise tag deadline day. The New York football Giants are not going to use the franchise tag, once again to no surprise, on Saquon Barkley. So Pat says sources view the Ravens, Raiders, Bears, Patriots, Texans, and Eagles as some primary potential suitors who have the resources, need, and interest to possibly sign Saquon Barkley. So let's just assume the Giants don't get a long-term deal done, and I don't think there's really any good of a chance that the Giants get a long-term deal done with Saquon Barkley. These relationships and negotiations have been contentious and very public in the last year.

If you haven't got it done now, I don't think you are going to get it done. But out of these six teams, I don't want to see them going to the Raiders. We don't know who their quarterback is going to be.

The Patriots, as much as I am a fan of the Patriots, I can't say that would be his best spot because we don't know who their quarterback is going to be. But you look at the other teams that are mentioned, you know the Bears are going to have Caleb Williams, he's going to be the number one pick, and you have a lot of salary cap room to spend and to use. You go get a young quarterback, a running back, that's a quarterback's best friend besides a left tackle. You look at a team like the Baltimore Ravens, imagine that backfield.

I think it could be Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, but you go get Saquon and how explosive that offense would be, that would be fun to watch. The Philadelphia Eagles, oh boy, that would be just a giant bleep you by Saquon. You go down the turnpike, you go to a better team, and could you imagine the creativity that they already have? Imagine what they could do at the goal line inside the red zone when you have a rushing quarterback like a Jalen Hurts and then an explosive weapon who's just struggled to stay healthy in Saquon Barkley. And the Texans, I believe the Texans have to have a big offseason because you've got to capitalize what you did last year and you have to understand it's tough in this league to consistently win without elite talent. And they have an elite quarterback now.

I think CJ Stroud, he told us at the Super Bowl, I agree with him. He's a top five quarterback already in football. To me, he's the fifth best quarterback in football entering the 2024 season. But with that being said, they don't have a lot around him on the offensive side of the ball. Like, Nikko Collins is a good wide receiver. He's more like a number two than a one.

And there's not many bigger fans of Nikko Collins than yours truly. I know they got the deal done with Dalton Schultz today. But you have to go get another weapon, whether that's a wide receiver or a running back, for CJ Stroud to utilize. So I look at those options, those six options, and let's all assume the Giants don't get a deal done, but even if you want to throw the Giants in there?

Yeah. Ravens, more appealing. Bears, with getting Caleb Williams in there, more appealing than Daniel Jones. Texans, more appealing.

And the Eagles, more appealing. So I think Saquon is as good as gone with his short tenure with the New York football Giants. Alright, let's update you on some of the biggest stories in sports with some audio.

We get to a News Brief. Alrighty, let's start it off with Dak Prescott. Dak Prescott on how he feels about contract talks. He's definitely confident. Obviously it helps the team and it's important for the numbers.

So I think it's Jerry, I heard Jerry said that. It's kind of happened over here and told me that part, right? That is a process. Both sides understand that. Everything's great.

I know, happy. I don't believe that Dak's going to be worth the money that they give him, but if someone is willing to pay you that money, I'll never fault a player for taking it. I don't believe Dak Prescott is someone you win a Super Bowl with and I've done this before on this air.

I have talked about at least 10 quarterbacks that I'd rather have over Dak Prescott entering next season. But he has all the leverage. He has all the power. Because his cap hit next year is nearly $60 million.

You can't go into that season. I'm not a big salary cap guy with one player taking up $60 million of your cap when you could give him a long-term extension and alleviate that number and spread that number out. So Dak has all the leverage here. He knows that. And with Jerry Jones always talking about the negotiating powers that he has and all the experience, Dak Prescott, even though it got ugly at some times, has been the winner here in negotiations with Dak up against the Cowboys.

Let's go to Jerry Jones when he was asked if they need to get a Dak Prescott deal done quickly. We don't need to, but we can if everybody wants to solve it. If you can't, what we have in place works. Is there fear that this could be his last year? Do you have that fear at all? I don't fear no.

I don't fear that. No, I do not. Do you feel like without an extension you could still have that all-in approach? Absolutely.

Absolutely I do. The biggest hogwash thing of the offseason is Jerry Jones saying the Cowboys are all in. The Cowboys care more about winning the offseason. The Cowboys care more about winning how many tweets there are about you or what is the back page headline. That's how they view winning.

It's by how much drama they could stir up. And Jerry Jones loves this. You have family members throwing each other under the bus about players. You have Jerry Jones saying the Cowboys are all in. And now you have a lingering contract issue or a contract storyline with Dak Prescott. So this is like Jerry Jones going undefeated right now with all this drama is playing on out.

Let's go to Phil Perry. He's covered the Patriots for a long time. He's on NBC Sports Boston last night. And he talked about maybe Jayden Daniels not wanting to go play for the New England Patriots. What I did hear about Daniels is that there are those in his camp who really would rather he not come to New England.

And that's probably climate related. A guy who grew up in San Bernardino, California, played at Arizona State and LSU. Now all of a sudden he's in Foxboro, Massachusetts trying to figure things out when it's snowing and below freezing. Again, I don't think that would be a concern for the Patriots, but it would be interesting to see how he would embrace the area.

It's a big concern. Look how Lamar Jackson, it worked for two, three months of the season. How has it worked out in January for Baltimore Ravens, which is the biggest comp to Jayden Daniels? Yeah, I just don't know how much I believe that Jayden Daniels is trying to push this.

And let's just say this is true, Santa. So the Bears have the number one overall pick. They're going to take Caleb Williams.

But let's say they tell Jayden Daniels, we want you to be the number one overall pick. Well, then you can't go play in the Windy City. You want to get drafted to by the Washington commanders? Well, Landover, Maryland, not that much different. A little bit warmer than Foxboro, but not that much different.

Let's say the Giants call you at six. You want to go play in the Swamps of Jersey? That's a wind tunnel at MetLife Stadium. So where's the team then that Jayden Daniels wants to go to?

Oh, I know who it could be. The Raiders, where he has the connection with Antonio Pierce, but they're picking at 13 and they do play in an indoor stadium. But if you want to go as quick as possible, and let's say the Raiders don't move up. Well, in all likelihood, you're playing in a cold weather city, and it's either going to be Washington, New England or the New York Giants. I don't think there's any way he really falls past three in one way or another. A team will have to come up to get him at three if he's still available.

But if you're going at two, that's a cold weather city. And if you somehow get past three, Cardinals aren't taking you, Chargers aren't taking you, and the Giants for sure will end up taking you. So that's why I kind of rolled my eyes at this. I thought this was maybe the most brilliant answer I have ever heard from an NFL draft prospect.

And I do think it's intentional, but I can't say that with 100% certainty. We had Ryan Wilson and Rick Spielman interviewing J.J. McCarthy on CBS Sports HQ. And he was asked, who are the top three wide receivers he would want to throw the ball to in the NFL? Top three wide receivers you want to throw to in the NFL?

Say Justin Jefferson, Devante Adams, you know I said this before, Jackson Smith and Jigba. You know, seeing him play my freshman year in the snow. Are you allowed to say that as a Michigan guy?

Being 3-0 against that, just having that on the chest, I don't feel that anymore. It's a little bit more respect and hatred. So, Big Mike, CBS, Moist Mike, Mike Sampter, a man of many names. You hear the first two answers. Justin Jefferson, Devante Adams, alright. You know, really nothing you can debate. And I told Jackson Smith and Jigba to his face two years ago, I think he's the best wide receiver of his draft class.

I do. Now, I don't know if that takes still the same way now, because no one really knew who Puka Nakua was at the time, and it ended up being Puka Nakua. But anyway, I'm a huge fan of Jackson Smith and Jigba. But when someone asks you coming out of college, who are the three wide receivers that you want to play with? I would even say Jackson Smith and Jigba's first on his own team. It would be DK Metcalf.

But they have that connection in Michigan, Ohio State, so I get it. But the reason why that answer is brilliant is because I know that JJ McCarthy's stock is rising right now. I do not think he will go in the top five picks. I still don't even know if he'll go in the top ten picks. But look who sits right outside the top ten. Minnesota in at number 11, the Raiders in at number 13, and the Seahawks in at number 16. It is brilliant to list the wide receivers, whether you think they're great or not, and obviously the first two are, and the third one has potential to be. It's brilliant for McCarthy, who is the Michigan man, so there's a lot of intelligence there, to pick Minnesota, the Raiders, and Seattle. All three, which would be great landing spots for him. Because the Raiders need a quarterback, Minnesota potentially needs a quarterback, and Seattle needs a quarterback.

And they have solid pieces around them. I just think that's a wonderful answer, Sam, by the Michigan quarterback. I mean, if I was going to go with the Seahawks guy, I would have gotten DK Metcalf, but if you want to throw in JSN, the time that they played him, he had 11 catches, 127 yards against Michigan in 2021. In that five-game stretch, including that Michigan game, Njigwa had 60 catches for 958 yards and six touchdowns in five games. So during that stretch, he was dominating. So I guess that JJ McCarthy probably has memories, almost nightmares, of how good JSN was.

The only thing that slowed down JSN in college, unfortunately, were injuries. Here is Jim Boeheim. I don't like Jim Boeheim, but I love that he ripped Jay Williams the other day.

This was on Don't At Me with Dan Dackich. The reason why he ripped him is because, you remember, Jay Will said he can't, he said something along the lines of, Kaitlyn Clark is like the most prolific scorer, but he can't call her the GOAT, and he can't say that she's great. Here's Jim Boeheim. Somebody comes out, some expert says, well, she hasn't won a championship. If I ever see that guy, just punch him unless he's really big.

I won't do it if he's really big. But these people, where do they, how do they even get jobs saying stuff like that? You know, you should, there should be certain things you say that disqualifies you from ever being on radio or TV again. Ah, Jim, if that's the case, you said some pretty stupid things, and you had some pretty dumb press conferences your last two years, and you got a pretty comfy TV job and radio job very quickly.

But I do like the answer somewhat by Jim Boeheim, because it's just eviscerating Jay Williams for what was a stupid take. Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll come on back.

We will give you the odds that were released coming off of Russell Wilson getting released the other day from the Denver Broncos. Brandon Stokely, by the way, will join us in 25 minutes as well. It is the Zach Gelb show right here, but where else? CBS Sports Radio. This is Tony Kornheiser's show. I'm Tony.

You expected someone else? So what exactly is the show about? Hmm, I don't know. It's a sports show nominally. Football's over, but we're finally at a point where things matter in college basketball, and baseball season is on deck. Greatest three words in the English language, pitches and catches. We have some of the best voices come on and explain what matters and what makes an upset, like Ryan does. Nine over eight. No, that's not an upset.

No, yeah, it is, Bob. And if you're lucky, I might just tell you about my search for discounted sleep pants, or my worries about what my dog just ate. Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.